My buddy there over at Don of All Trades is apparently a COP! (eek! dude! Hide the stuff!!)

And I got to thinking the other day when he wrote this post, that we tend to forget that the Po-po are people too. Television and the silver screen have given us this romanticized version of the trade, there are either good cops or crooked cops- they are either jumping across the rooftops in hot pursuit or lurking on the side of the road in a cruiser eating donuts, or “on the take” making deals in seedy back alleys. We are so content to lock them into their stereotypes. It gives us comfort. Puts a layer of protection between us and The Man and we can cope with life a little easier. If they are not really people like you and I, it’s not such a big deal when they get shot at- we can get mad at them when they nail us for speeding, we can shake our fists when they’re slowing down traffic. They’re not people! they’re COPS! .

But they are people. They are Moms and Dads and brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, husbands, wives. Next time you’re rubbernecking at the scene of an accident, look closely. They’re standing out in the freezing cold worrying that some retard is going to come on too fast and add to the crash. That’s not smugness on his face, that’s cold and tired. Look closely and you’ll see what I saw one night- that’s a puppy zipped up under his coat that he found by the car. 40 below, and the ambulance long gone and he’s out there in the dark moving traffic and keeping a freakin puppy from freezing to death. Yeah, pretty badass.

They are regular men and women. Most local (whaddya call them in canada?) precincts like to choose a family or two every year to “Secret Santa” for. When my uncle passed away suddenly (he was in a brawl and took a blow to the head and died in his sleep that night) and left a 2 year old boy in the care of my grandmother, it seemed that every year there was something from RCMSanta. A desk, toys… hockey registration paid for. Opportunities for my little cousin that would never have been, except for some compassionate hearts in the community- Cops.

My very own Grandad was a Mountie. Way back in the day, he founded the Scarborough Youth club. It’s a Boys and Girls club now. He and his buddies gave their extra time and coached gymnastics and other sports and meanwhile the local truancy rates and petty crimes went down as the kids were off the streets and had something to do.

Cops give to the communities on the job and off. They coach sports, they volunteer off duty, and they make decent neighbors (who’s gonna break into your house with a cop next door?). Yeah, they’re a pain in the ass when you wanna drive 120kph in a 90 zone. Rules suck. But they’ll be there when you wrap your stupid ass around a tree on the side of the road and they’ll save your puppy and take care of your kids when you don’t make it home from the hospital.

So, basically; THANK YOU to the boys in blue. Thank you for all that you do for us. All that you’ve done for my family, and my friends. You’ve earned those donuts 😀 and my admiration and gratitude and RESPECT.

One Response to Death isn’t funny, so neither is this post…

Ha, thanks for sharing this! I’m also an attorney…so there’s something to despise about me for everyone!!! Lol.

Your grandad sounds pretty darned cool! There are lots of feel good deeds done everyday by cops (lots of bad stuff too, unfortunately), but that’s not what’s found in the newspapers. That’s too bad, because I really think the public wants to read heart warming stories as much as the bad stories!!

I do still love a good donut, but I won’t eat one in uniform in public for fear that somebody will get a photo of me cramming it in my gullet and turn me into a viral meme or whatever they call those things!